Zippy
Razor Creator
Big Brother is watching…
Big Brother is watching…
For anyone who doesn’t routinely follow official Electronic Arts / Ultima Online news; EA announced Monday that it is going to test and probably implement EvenBalance software’s “PunkBuster” into the Ultima Online client. This software package is included in many popular First Person Shooter games, but this would mark the first major MMOG to include it. The software is designed to block third party “cheat” programs in order to keep those games fair. I’m sure most of us can agree cheating is bad, and cheat programs are usually bad. The problem comes in when you try to define a “cheat” program… more on that later.
The underlying problem with the software is, obviously, the complete and total invasion of privacy associated with it. Not only does the software continuously scan for processing running on the system to search for potential cheats, but the software can take screenshots and forward them to the server. When used only for the purpose of game enforcement, such gratuitous invasions of privacy are mostly harmless. But everyone should be wary of the even those with the best intentions. The license agreement for the software clearly states (emphasis added):
By now you’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good Zippy… but… conflict of interest? Don’t you write an ‘illegal third party program’?”
Yes. I do. And yeah, my opinion may be a weee bit biased. But you shouldn’t take my opinion at face value any more than you should take the promises of benignity from Electronic Arts.
Which brings us to the whole issue of third party programs. What is an “illegal third party program” anyways? Doesn’t Electronic Arts have approved third party programs? Yes, they do. In (date unknown... probably Spring 1999) Origin implemented the UO Pro program to certify third party programs as “allowed” on official servers. UOAssist took advantage of this program, and owes most of its success and its rumored hundreds of thounds of dollars profit to the program. The program was suspended in June 1999. Thus sealing the fate of any potential future tool and sealing the monopoly of UOAssist over the entire game. So what constitutes an illegal third party program? The short answer is anything made after 1999. The long answer is of course very subjective. Plenty of people consider Razor a cheat program, and plenty more don’t. Some consider PlayUO to be “cheating”--but some don’t. Would Razor or any of the other currently existing “programs written in this millennium” have gotten UOPro approval? Maybe, maybe not… we’ll never know for sure.
So what does PunkBuster mean for Razor or RunUO? There’s really no telling right now. Until patches come out there is no telling how PunkBuster will work. I can tell you I and the rest of the Dev Team will be here, trying to figure things out. Until then, it’s anyone’s guess.
Just some stuff for you to think about.
Big Brother is watching…
For anyone who doesn’t routinely follow official Electronic Arts / Ultima Online news; EA announced Monday that it is going to test and probably implement EvenBalance software’s “PunkBuster” into the Ultima Online client. This software package is included in many popular First Person Shooter games, but this would mark the first major MMOG to include it. The software is designed to block third party “cheat” programs in order to keep those games fair. I’m sure most of us can agree cheating is bad, and cheat programs are usually bad. The problem comes in when you try to define a “cheat” program… more on that later.
The underlying problem with the software is, obviously, the complete and total invasion of privacy associated with it. Not only does the software continuously scan for processing running on the system to search for potential cheats, but the software can take screenshots and forward them to the server. When used only for the purpose of game enforcement, such gratuitous invasions of privacy are mostly harmless. But everyone should be wary of the even those with the best intentions. The license agreement for the software clearly states (emphasis added):
The license does not limit Electronic Art’s capabilities at all. They promise in their PunkBuster FAQ to only take screenshots of the game screen. Great, I’m sure we should all trust them to keep their word. Even if we all do trust them, can we trust them to keep any information they collect safe? We can’t forget there is at least one instance of lost or stolen customer data reported weekly for every company and type of data from Graduate student’s social security numbers to information about thousands of U.S. Military veterans and active servicemen. PunkBuster is no model of safety, as can been seen on their website’s front page.PunkBuster License Agreement said:
By now you’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good Zippy… but… conflict of interest? Don’t you write an ‘illegal third party program’?”
Yes. I do. And yeah, my opinion may be a weee bit biased. But you shouldn’t take my opinion at face value any more than you should take the promises of benignity from Electronic Arts.
Which brings us to the whole issue of third party programs. What is an “illegal third party program” anyways? Doesn’t Electronic Arts have approved third party programs? Yes, they do. In (date unknown... probably Spring 1999) Origin implemented the UO Pro program to certify third party programs as “allowed” on official servers. UOAssist took advantage of this program, and owes most of its success and its rumored hundreds of thounds of dollars profit to the program. The program was suspended in June 1999. Thus sealing the fate of any potential future tool and sealing the monopoly of UOAssist over the entire game. So what constitutes an illegal third party program? The short answer is anything made after 1999. The long answer is of course very subjective. Plenty of people consider Razor a cheat program, and plenty more don’t. Some consider PlayUO to be “cheating”--but some don’t. Would Razor or any of the other currently existing “programs written in this millennium” have gotten UOPro approval? Maybe, maybe not… we’ll never know for sure.
So what does PunkBuster mean for Razor or RunUO? There’s really no telling right now. Until patches come out there is no telling how PunkBuster will work. I can tell you I and the rest of the Dev Team will be here, trying to figure things out. Until then, it’s anyone’s guess.
Just some stuff for you to think about.
